Global Lens Film Series

SHYAMAL UNCLE TURNS OFF THE LIGHTS

Synopsis
An 80-year-old Kolkata retiree is on a mission to get his neighborhood streetlights turned off after sunrise after he notices they stay on all day as well. Shyamal Uncle finds his sense of propriety upset by this wasteful expense of electricity. But finding someone to take him seriously proves a battle against an indifferent bureaucracy and a complacent status quo (and is just maybe a welcome distraction from his otherwise dull routine). Suman Ghosh’s vérité-style film is alive with the sights, sounds and personalities of this old Kolkata neighborhood, as his unlikely protagonist pursues a quest that adds up to a wry, revealing, highly original tour of modern India.

About the DirectorSuman Ghoshwas born in Rishra, India in 1972. He received a Bachelor of Science in Economics at Presidency College, Calcutta, a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Delhi and a doctorate in Economics from Cornell University in Ithaca. His debut feature, Footsteps, won the Silver Lotus Award for Best Actor and Best Feature Film in Bengali at India’s National Film Awards in 2008. Shyamal Uncle Turns Off the Lights is his fourth feature film.